Star Wars Outlaws pushes Stealth hard. During certain missions, you’ll be required to use stealth completely — if you’re caught you lose instantly. Weapons are blocked during these sections, making them even trickier. Stealth is such an integral part of the game; some players are struggling to pass these early sections. And for good reason, because you have limited abilities this early in Star Wars Outlaws.
If you’re struggling like us — know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There are tricks you can use to make stealth easier early. You’ll need to unlock NPC allies and upgrade your abilities, but if you pause and take the time to learn everything you can do, stealth isn’t nearly as bad as it first seems.
Why Is Stealth So Difficult?
Stealth is difficult in Star Wars Outlaws because enemies can sense you without warning — and some missions block the use of blasters. You’ll only be able to use your stealth abilities and takedowns to pass through areas without getting caught. Other sections of the game, such as clearing outposts or bases, also require stealth because your main character will die ridiculously fast if you’re caught in the open.
Later in the game, you’ll become tougher and can survive long gunfights — but on the first planet, you’ll struggle to live for long. That’s why stealth is so important. Enemies are difficult to read, there are lots of them, and some missions will fail instantly if a single bad guy is alerted.
Make Stealth Easier With Nix
Nix is your fuzzy companion in Star Wars Outlaws. Fully understanding its abilities is critical for managing stealth. Here’s a quick list of everything Nix can do for you — and why you’ll want to use them often.
And don’t forget — never stop spamming Nix Vision. Use the ability to spot enemies on the map before they see you.
- Send Nix to stand and distract enemies.
- You can target any location and Nix will stand, distracting until you call them back. Use this to change enemy sightlines and takedown from behind. If an enemy is investigating, send Nix to distract before you’re caught.
- Nix distractions will make guards stop and look. They will (normally) not move toward Nix. This locks them in position briefly. They’ll also not be alarmed at all when spotting Nix.
- Sending Nix will also distract cameras. A distracted camera will look at Nix, stopping its movement and making sneaking by easier.
Nix can also be used to takedown enemies. The ‘Attack’ command is critical for stealth infiltration.
- Target enemies with Nix to ‘Attack’ — this blocks an enemy’s vision and completely stuns them. This will alert nearby enemies.
- When dealing with two enemies, send Nix to attack. While the guard is distracted, knock out their partner.
If an enemy spots Nix attacking, they’ll start shooting at Nix and force them to flee. This takes a few moments, so you’ll have time to take the shooting guard down, then deal with the attacked guard second.
- To draw enemies away from their post, use Whistle. Hold [D-Pad: Right] while crouched in combat areas.
- If you takedown a lured enemy near a piece of cover or tall grass, you’ll automatically move the body to hide it. Early in the game, this is the only way to hide bodies.
- Nix can also close doors. Use this to block line of sight while sneaking!
- Order Nix to ‘Sabotage’ alarm panels to avoid reinforcements if you’re caught.
And that’s just a few things you can do. These functions are all permanently unlocked at the start of the game — but later features make stealth much, much easier. Here are some unlockable abilities you’ll want to get early.
Unlockable Abilities To Get First
Abilities are new skills you can unlock by completing mini-challenges for your contact NPCs. The first contact is unlocked on the starting planet, but later planets will feature new contacts you’ll need to unlock by progressing the story or by seeking them out yourself. Once a contact has been unlocked, you’ll see their abilities list and what steps you need to complete to unlock them.
These are the skills you’ll want to unlock right away to make stealth much easier. Many of these abilities can be unlocked very early on Tarosha, the first planet.
- Fast-Talking: This Bartender skill is unlocked by performing stealth takedowns and by distracting enemies with Nix, then performing a takedown while the enemy is distracted.
- This ability causes you to false surrender. While talking, a single guard will approach but will not become alarmed until the timer is up.
- While Fast-Talking, you can approach an enemy to knock out with punches. If blasters are enabled, you can also use a Stun shot.
- One powerful feature of Fast-Talking is you can use it to back away after being caught and leave — losing line-of-sight with a guard. This will prevent them from going on alert and you can lose them.
Early in this game, this doesn’t work against Imperial Troopers. You’ll be arrested if you attempt to Fast-Talk. This only works against cartel and other criminal thugs. Remember that!
- Keep Talking: The upgraded version of Fast-Talking works on multiple enemies and can be done for longer. Very good for using Adrenaline Rush to take down groups of enemies or to just back away.
The Smoke Bomb is another useful skill that allows you to instantly escape a situation. Drop it before you’re caught to get away.
- Smoke Bomb: Smoke Bombs can be used to create a sheet of smoke you can hide in — it works like tall grass or steam exhaust in Imperial bases.
- Unlockable after meeting The Mechanic. This character is the second major NPC contact and can’t be missed by progressing the story on Toshara.
- Requires a Smoke Bomb Compressor and other materials. Go to the Abilities tab in your menu and select the required materials. A map marker will show you where to collect
- To get the Smoke Bomb Compressor, you’ll need to enter a cave with a string wind. Use the Speeder Boost ability to push through the wind and enter the cave.
The Slicer Makes Stealth Easier
The Slicer is the third contact on Toshara — and she’s totally optional. She is mostly used to unlock an improved Slicer Kit, but she also has many stealth abilities that are absolutely required.
- How To Unlock The Slicer: Complete the quest by the Slicer to unlock her as a contact. Find her by talking to an NPC in the Mirogana Crimson Dawn territory bar. If you aren’t in good standing with the Crimson Dawn, you can sneak into their territory in the same bar to reach the back room and talk to her.
- After that, you’ll be sent to collect an item from a small Imperial outpost. Get it and she’ll send you to a much larger Imperial base. Help her sabotage the base and escape to gain her as a permanent contact. Her most important function is to give you an improved Slicer Kit, but she also has several useful stealth options you’ll want to unlock ASAP.
Once you have her unlocked, work toward getting the Lightfoot ability and the Concussive Smoke Grenade ability.
- Lightfoot: This ability makes you harder to detect when sneaking near enemies. Absolutely essential. It’s very easy to unlock.
- Concussive Smoke Ability: This upgrade makes your Smoke Grenades more powerful. The blast now staggers any enemies within the smoke grenade blast radius.
And that’s a few small steps you can do on the first planet to make stealth a whole lot more tolerable.
